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Varsity girls basketball defeats West Covina

Varsity girls basketball defeated West Covina 74-70 in a home league game Wednesday, Jan. 9.

The Bulldogs started the game with a two-point lead, winning the jump ball and immediately following up with a jump shot. The Mustangs responded to the Bulldogs’ offense by playing zone defense but trailed eight points by the end of the quarter. Throughout the second quarter, Mustangs attempted to close the gap with three-pointers and defensive rebounds. However, the Bulldogs maintained their lead, ending the half 32-37.

“We definitely had a rocky start in the beginning, and it was frustrating,” center senior Theresa Lin said. “But I think we did a good job persevering even though we were behind. I’m really proud that we were able to look toward winning instead of giving up or feeling like the lead was too big for us to catch up.”

The third quarter concluded with Walnut at a 12-point deficit. However, during the fourth quarter, Walnut shifted to man-to-man defense, and Walnut contested many shots from West Covina. With six minutes remaining in the game, the Mustangs drove to the basket and made offensive rebounds. They also made two three-point plays to lessen West Covina’s lead to 65-67. With only a few seconds remaining on the clock, power forward senior Kaitlin Day scored a buzzer beater to tie the game 67-67, sending the game into overtime.

“I was really happy [when I made the shot] because we’ve been practicing that shot and that play for a long time,” Day said. “Seeing that play work out was amazing, and I was just relieved that the basketball went in. I’m usually really nervous with those plays, but I knew that I had to be focused. I couldn’t think of anything besides [the basketball going] in.”

During overtime, Walnut continued to make offensive rebounds to score jump shots, ending the game 74-70.

“I was really happy when we won but I thought that [we could’ve won] sooner if we played to our best ability,” said Lin. “But I was really glad that we were able to come back as a team and put all our strengths together to win the game.”